Railways makes photo ID cards mandatory for all types of reserved tickets

Beginning today, all passengers using the reserved ticket facility in Indian Railways would necessarily have to carry original proof of identity with them.

The move is aimed at facilitating travel of bonafide and legitimate passengers and reducing the scope of misuse of the ticket reservation system by unscrupulous elements, the railway ministry said in a release today.

The Railways has also expanded the list of prescribed proofs of identity to cover a variety of photo identity cards for the convenience of the passengers, the release said.

The revised proof of identity also includes photo identity cards having serial numbers issued by public sector undertakings of state/central government, district administrations, municipal administrations and panchayat administrations.

The expanded list of the prescribed proofs of identity for undertaking journey on Tatkal ticket and other reserved classes will now be as follows:

• Voter photo identity card issued by the Election Commission of India
  
• Passport
  
• PAN card issued by Income Tax Department
  
• Driving Licence issued by RTO
  
• Student identity card with photograph issued by recognised school/college to their students
  
• Nationalized bank passbook with photographs
  
• Credit cards issued by banks with laminated photograph
  
• Unique Identification Card (Aadhaar)
  
• Photo identity cards having serial number issued by central/state PSUs, district administrations, municipal bodies and panchayat administrations.
  
• Photo identity card having serial number issued by central/state government which include the following:

(i)  Pension pay order (PPO)

(ii) Ration card with photographs

(iii) Senior citizen cards

(iv) Below poverty line (BPL) cards

(v) ESI cards (with photograph) issued for taking treatment in ESI dispensaries

(vi) CGHS cards (with photograph) issued to individual family members of central government employees

''Any one of the passengers booked on a PNR for undertaking journey in any reserved class on Indian Railways has to produce any one of the above mentioned prescribed proofs of identity in original during the journey failing which all the passengers booked on that ticket will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly,'' the release said, adding, ''The existing provision of the Tatkal scheme where the passenger is required to show the same original proof of identity as indicated on the ticket shall continue.''